Last week, the Friends of La Grange Parks filed a motion asking a Cook County judge to reconsider her ruling giving the Park District of La Grange the go-ahead to sell a portion of Gordon Park, an action park district board member Brad Belcaster said is thwarting the will of the people.

"We're just ready for this to be over," board president Mary Ellen Penicook said after Wednesday night's board meeting.

Belcaster described the lawsuit as never ending. He suggested it was like a venereal disease that would not go away.

On Oct. 8, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled the Park District of La Grange could sell 2.82 acres of Gordon Park. Board members were excited because it meant they could proceed with plans to sell the land parcel to developers and use the proceeds to renovate the rest of the park. The ruling came after a group of about 25 La Grange residents filed a motion challenging the park district's plan, which had been previously supported by a majority of La Grange voters in a referendum vote.

For the park district board members it appeared as if there was a light at the end of a three-year long tunnel when Judge Susan Fox Gillis made her ruling. However, the board members always knew attorneys representing the citizens' organization Friends of La Grange Parks, had 30 days to file an appeal. Last week the organization filed a 15-page motion asking the judge to reconsider her ruling. 

The motion for the Friends of La Grange Parks said the judge erred in allowing the park district to "put on evidence of what it would do with the proceeds from the sale of the property which was both irrelevant and prejudicial." The motion also said the evidence presented by the park district on why it should be allowed to sell the land did not meet the burden of proof required by the Commissioners Land Sale Act, which says Illinois park district boards of commissioners are allowed to declare a portion of a park, or all of a park, no longer needed for park purposes.

The Friends' objection to the sale of the land is a philosophical one over the use of public space. In a previous interview with La Grange Patch, Friends' attorney Tom Beyer said the Friends of La Grange Parks want to preserve the village's park space. He said the village has little useable green space and the sale of even a handful of acres will diminish it even more.

The proposed land parcel lies adjacent to the now-demolished Rich Port YMCA, 31 E. Ogden Ave. The land was scheduled to be sold to Atlantic Realty Partners, a land development group. Developers wanted to buy the former YMCA's property plus the maintenance shed that is part of Gordon Park. The sale would have been worth about $6.5 million, said Tim Kelpsas, former president of the park district board.

Park district board members said the sale of a couple of acres will help enhance the remaining land at Gordon Park by using the proceeds to purchase better equipment and install new facilities.

Despite the motion filed by the Friends of the Park District, the board plans to continue with plans to ready the land sale. When the judge made her ruling last month she ordered the park district to obtain three appraisals of the parcel of Gordon Park property and sell it for no less than the average of the appraisals.

Penicook said the judge has not issued a stay on the park district's activities and they are planning to seek the bids after the new year begins.

"Right now, while this lawsuit hangs over us, it kind of impedes our ability to sell the land," Belcaster said.

Penicook said there is a Dec. 3 court date set for the judge to reconsider her motion. Penicook though said the board believes she will not reverse her decision.

"The judge was careful in the evidence she allowed to be presented and she was very fair to the other side in allowing them to present their evidence," Penicook said.